1 Corinthians 15. And Paul says here, Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel. That's what the gospel
is. It's a testimony. It's a declaration of what God
has done for sinners in Christ. And I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you. the gospel you received, and
the gospel that you stand in, by which also you are saved.
If you keep in memory, in the margin it says, hold fast what
I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how
that Christ died for our sins, And here's the key, according
to the Scriptures, that he was buried and rose again the third
day according to the Scriptures. I was going down to Murfreesboro
Friday morning, and I went by a church down there, and had
on their sign, Come Here, Gospel Servants. And immediately my
mind said, What is your gospel? What is your gospel? If you're
going to come here and hear a gospel sermon, what is your gospel? It was a church of Christ, Temelite
church. So I knew immediately that my
gospel and their gospel was different gospels, different gospels. So
what is your gospel? What is my gospel? Paul says,
you know, you heard the gospel. Have you heard the gospel of
your salvation? Now, I know this, that there's
no offense in preaching works or preaching cooperative effort.
There's no offense in that. But there is offense in pure,
free, sovereign grace that will not allow, will not let, will
not refuse us to let a man glory in anything but what Christ did. I do know that. Now, all the
preachers in churches, don't preach the same gospel. They
don't preach the same gospel. According to what I hear and
what I see today, there's many gospels, many gospels. There's
a gospel that some people seek salvation in family ties, by
their relationship to family. And parents, what they do is
they are in the church and they have their infants baptized,
sprinkled, catechized, confirmed, And they call that salvation.
Call it salvation. Some say, well, I'm going to
join the church. Well, I went and joined the church
today. And they say their church membership makes them all right. Makes them all right. I talked
to a fellow down there Friday, and he said, you know, I was
raised a certain way. We got talking about Christ,
and he said he was raised a certain way. I got to looking around
and I finally found a church that was of the opinion that
I was. And I just said, well, I know
the only hope I have is Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. He's
my only righteousness, my only plea, my only standing before
God. That's what I told him. Not in a church. Not in my church
membership. And some seek salvation in the
ordinances. in baptism in the Lord's Supper.
In fact, some people call them sacraments. And if you call them
sacraments, that means that they're saving grace or grace giving
through that baptism, giving through that bread and wine.
But there's no grace given in baptism. There's no grace given
in taking a wafer and some wine. No grace is given to us in Christ. And it was given to us in Christ
before the world ever began. And some seek salvation in morality. And I know several people this
way, that they say, and I heard a fellow say this just yesterday,
that I'm all right. Well, what makes you think you're
all right? I don't know how to answer that. I say, you don't
believe the gospel, you don't believe Christ, You commit these certain sins,
and you're living this way, well, what would make you think that
you're alright? What would make you think that you're okay? If
you think that you're alright, and you see people say all the
time, well, don't worry about me. I'll see you in heaven. I'll see you in heaven. I'll
just as sure be there as anybody else will. If you make it, I
can make it, you hypocrite. Well, we'll see. Won't we? We'll
see. And some seek salvation and may rest in salvation in
a decision. They make a decision to accept
Christ. They make a decision to accept
Jesus. Oh, they'll tell you, I made
a decision when I was 14. I walked the aisle. I walked the old sawdust
trail. I walked the aisle. I accepted Jesus when I was 60. And then to our son, who finds
their hope or their salvation strictly in a doctrine. If they
believe in doctrine, as long as they believe in doctrine,
historical doctrine, call it reform, call it what you want
to, if they believe in doctrine and they got their ducks in a
row, they say, I know I'm saved because this is my doctrine.
Well, there's a way that seems right unto a man, but the scripture
says the end thereof are the ways of death. I want you to
look at something with me. Now you keep this and look over
at Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55. What is your gospel? What's the
gospel that you believe? What's the gospel that you're
salvation? What's the gospel where Paul says, I preached,
I'm declaring to you the gospel that you received, that you believed,
that you were saved by? In Isaiah 55 and verse 8, look
what it says here. For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. My word. David said, Lord, teach me thy
way. And here he says, neither are
your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts. So you see, beloved, the way
we go is not the way God goes. The way we think is not the way
God thinks. The way we look at things is
not the way God looks at things. He looks at things all against
us. So if we try to bring God down to us, we've already messed
up. If we try to put God in our box,
we've already messed up. And that's why Paul says, according
to the Word of God, there's only one gospel. Just one gospel. One gospel. And that's what I
read to you there this morning. I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you. You receive that gospel, you
stand in that gospel, you're saved by that gospel. And oh,
beloved, Paul said this over in Galatians, he says, I marvel
that you're so soon removed from him that calls you into his gospel,
that by his grace calls you into the gospel, removed from that
grace. For there are some that preach another gospel, which
is not another, there is no other gospel. And he said, if me or
an angel from heaven comes and preaches a gospel that I haven't
preached unto you, let him be accursed. The gospel was so important and
so glorious that Paul withstood an apostle to his face just because
he was sent and eaten with a bunch of Gentiles, eating what Gentiles
do and fellowshipping with Gentiles. And when some men come down from
Jerusalem, He was intimidated by them, those Sabbath keepers
and some of those. He was intimidated by them. Man
fears spirit. And he left the Gentiles and
come over there and sit down at the Jewish table and act like
he didn't know those Gentiles. And couldn't have fellowship
with those Gentiles. Paul says, you know what you've
done? You denied the gospel of the grace of God. You denied
the truth of the gospel. How do you deny the truth of
the gospel? Because the gospel is exactly what's going to save
the Jew, and the same way it's going to save the Gentile. And
Peter, you've made a difference between them. And there ain't
no difference according to the gospel. Ain't that right? And
oh, beloved, look with me over to Romans, chapter 1. Just a
moment. I want to build this message up. I want to take my
time. I want to build this message.
This is important. What's your gospel? I ask you
what your gospel is. What is your gospel? What's the
gospel you believe? What's the gospel you receive?
What's my gospel? What's my gospel? Paul called
it my gospel. I call it my gospel. A preacher
committed to his trust is committed to our trust. My gospel is the
message I own. The one I shall be judged by,
saved by, established by. That's what we're talking about,
my gospel, my gospel to distinguish it and to show how opposite it
is to the gospel of a false apostle, the Judaizers. And look what
he says here, talking about the gospel in verse 1. Paul, Romans
1, 1, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, listen to this, called
to be an apostle. First of all, it's the gospel
of God separated under the gospel of God. This one gospel. It's
the gospel of God. It originated with him. It was
born in him. It came from him. It has no human
origin whatsoever. And then not only that, but it's
the ancient gospel. It's been the only gospel there
ever is, which he had promised to form by his prophets in the
Holy Scriptures. It's not a new gospel. It didn't
start with the Apostle Paul. It started in the Garden of Eden. It started, beloved, in the creation. The gospel. Christ was the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. And it's in the Holy
Scriptures. And then look what it is. It's
the gospel concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. It concerns
the Son of God. It concerns the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, let's watch this. And He shows both sides of Christ.
He said, First of all, He is made in the seed of David according
to the flesh. He was the one that God made a covenant with,
and he'd come here and had the rightful heir to the throne.
He'd come from the tribe of Judah, and declared to be the Son of
God. There he is, his God. Man and
God in one person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Declared to be the God-man,
who he was. And oh, beloved, so my question
is, my question is, to myself and to you, what is your gospel? What is your gospel? Is my gospel
the gospel of God? Is my gospel the one I just read
to you, that I've received, that I stand in, that I'm saved by?
The one that's the gospel of God, the ancient gospel concerning
His Son, Jesus Christ? Is my gospel the saving gospel? And I tell you, beloved, there's
a lot at stake right here. A lot at stake right here. Oh,
my. Let me tell you what my gospel
is. I'll tell you what my gospel is, and I believe and I hope
and pray by God's grace that you're gospel. And it is this. First of all, my gospel exalts
a sovereign God. Exalts a sovereign God. Now,
when we talk about God's sovereign, that means one who reigns. That's
all it means. God who reigns. Now, God who
reigns. Men don't care to have a sovereign
God over creation. They'll use sovereignty of God.
I mean, a lot of people use the term sovereignty of God. They
don't care to have God sovereign over creation, and He is. He
is. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof. He spake and it was done. He
commanded and it stood fast. And they don't care to have Him
sovereign in providence. God governed. Providence means
God just carrying out His will in this world as it seemeth good
in His sight. that He orders all things in
time. Everything that happens in this
world was foreordained and predestinated of God, and that's carrying out
His will and His purpose and decree in time. That's all providence
is. And you know how God said even
a sparrow don't fall to the ground. A sparrow don't fall to the ground
without Him. And I'll tell you a little old
sparrow come down and get him Sunday, God directed him to where
they provided him the food and put him right where it's at.
And He numbers the hairs of our head. That means that, beloved,
He counts, He watches every move we make and ordains everything
that happens. I mean, I don't care what it
is to the... I'm like Mr. Spurgeon, you know, when you
sit in the light and you see those little old... that dust
in the air? You know, when you're in the
light and you see that dust coming through there? He says, dust
mites! Those little particles of dust!
He's under the sovereign control of God. If anything ever comes
out from under his control, then he ceases to be God. And then,
oh, now here's where we get to rub his throat. But he is also
sovereign in salvation. Huh? Oh, Moses said, show me
your glory. I'm going to tell you what my
glory is, Moses. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.
I will have compassion on whom I will. It's not of him that
will it. Oh, I will. Oh, come on. Come on, exercise your free will.
Come on. It's not of him that will it.
Well, I'm going to run. I'm going to run and do something
for Jesus. I'm going to run and get to work
for God. I'm going to run and knock on
some doors. It's not of him that willeth, not of him that runneth,
but of God that showeth mercy. Oh, beloved, look with me over
in Psalm 135. That's why, you know, David,
and we've quoted this so many times, David said, Not unto us,
O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be glory. for thy truth
and thy mercy's sake." And they said, Lord, that's David says,
we're now as your God, David. We're now as your God. Where's
your God at? Huh? We got ours. We got him on a
cross. Got him around our neck. Got him on the bumpers of our
cars. Got him in the back seat. Got him sitting out in the garden. You know drug dealers, this is
the truth, you know all these drug dealers that's killing all
these people down in Mexico? They have a God, a saint that
the Catholic Church has provided them to protect them even as
they're murdering people and dealing drugs. They got a saint
that they pray to. You know when I was in Vietnam,
little old pagodas were everywhere. You know what a pagoda was? That's
a little old place you put Buddha. And if you wanted to go to worship
before Buddha, you had to go someplace where He was. He couldn't
come to where you are. You know, if you're going to
worship a false god, you've got to go where He is. He can't come
to where you're at. Isn't that right? But oh, David
said, oh, listen, our God is in the heavens, and He does just
exactly what pleases Him. Now look here in Psalm 135. verse 3. Psalm 135, verse 3. Praise the Lord, for the Lord
is good. Sing praises unto his name, for
it is pleasant. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob
unto himself. O Jacob, thy worm, and Israel
for his peculiar treasure. For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods. Now, how do you know? Whatsoever
the Lord pleased. That did He in heaven, and in
the earth, and in the seas, and all deep places. That's how I
know He's above all gods. And oh, you see, beloved, when
it talks about, you know, He does whatever He pleased, it
pleased God to make you His people. It pleased God that in Christ
all foolish should dwell. It pleased God to bruise Him
and make His soul an offering for sin. It pleased God, Paul
said, to reveal His Son in me. And if Christ is in you, it pleased
God to reveal His Son in you. And it pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. And I mean, beloved,
everything that happens in this world happens according to the
good pleasure of God Almighty. And you know, He says that we're
His by the good pleasure of His will. Oh, listen, beloved, not
only does my gospel exalt a sovereign God. Is that your gospel? Second thing, my gospel, my gospel
recognizes a total and a complete fall. A man just didn't get blind
in one eye. and just had a little fuzz in
this one. He didn't get crippled where
he'd get by with a crutch. No, no. He, a total and a complete
fall. God made man upright, and the
scripture said in Ecclesiastes 7, 29, that he sought out many
inventions. He invented free will. He invented,
you know, that a man lost everything in the fall, but he's willed.
That a man lost everything in the fall, but he's tired. Why
do we call it a fall? Why do we call it a fall? When
Adam sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, why do we call
it a fall? Well, first of all, Adam was way up here. He was
God's highest creation. He had a righteousness, and he
lost that. He hadn't the life of God in
him. And he had life in him, and he died. He fell to death. He had fellowship and communion
with God, and he fell, and he lost that. He dwelt in paradise. I mean
perfection. I mean everything that could
be. God gave him everything that his heart could desire. And he,
when he sinned against God, he was thrown out of paradise. And
God gave him a helpmate, the most beautiful woman that God
ever made on the top side of God's earth. Miss America that
hold a light to her that's ever won the title. You can believe
that God made the first woman. She was perfect and she was beautiful. And when he fell, she fell with him. And that beauty
turned into ugliness, turned into sin. And there he was. He knowed everything
that was good. Everything that was good. Oh,
he knew what good was. But when he fell, he lost what
good was and found out what evil is that he never knew before.
That's why we call it a fall. He's up here and he fell all
the way to the bottom. And he fell so far that if God
don't go where he is and pick him up, he ain't getting up.
Now, ain't that right? Ah, beloved, and that's why you
know God said He went looking for a good man. God went looking
for a good man, and He didn't ever find one. Not only that,
He says there's none good, no, not one. He went looking for
somebody that understood Him, understood His ways, understood
His Word, understood what salvation is, understood His own sin, understood
His inability and His And he said, I couldn't find a soul
on the topside of God's earth that understood what condition
I was in. That understood anything about me. Understood anything
about the Word. Never found the Word. And oh, beloved, Isaiah
said it like this. He said, from the top of the
head to the sole of the foot, man is full of wounds, bruises
all over, and putrefying sores. That's how God views us. That's
how God views us. That's why Paul said, or the
scripture said over in Psalms, said man at his best estate is
vanity. Vanity. Look with me over in
John's Gospel, Chapter 5, just a moment. You know, where the
scripture says we're dead, you have to be quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sins. And, oh, beloved, dead, dead,
dead. But our Lord said, except you
be born again, you can't enter the kingdom of God. So regeneration,
the new birth, is absolutely and utterly essential. That's
what it means you had to be quickened who were dead in sin. You were
dead, and God gave you life. You were dead. You know, you
had to be quickened, and forgiven, you altered, give you life. Raise
you up together with Christ. Life is essential. Regeneration
is essential. Take the Lord's Supper once a
week. Join every church. Get baptized. Do whatever you
want to do, but until you're regenerated, until God gives
you life, Till God quickens you, till God puts a new heart in
you, and puts a new spirit in you, and puts a new mind in you,
and makes you a new creature, you're dead! You're lost! You're without God,
you're without hope, and you're without Christ in this world!
Ain't that right? And look here in John 5 in verse
40. Now watch what it says here.
You will not come to me that you might have love. Will not. You just will not do
it. And I receive not honor from men, but I know you that you
have not the love of God in you. You know we love Him. Why? Because
He first loved us. And I am coming in my Father's
name and you won't receive me. You won't believe me. You won't
bow to me. If another shall come in his
own name, preaching his own words, preaching
his own righteousness and giving you a hope, a false hope, you'll
receive him. But how can you believe? Which
brag on one another, receive honor one of another. that stands
up and tells what you've done for God and how this fellow done
this great work, and that fellow done that great work, and oh,
come up here in the front, tell what all things Jesus done for
him. Oh, did he save you from cocaine? Tell us about him! Did
he save you? A fellow, now listen, this is
all, you know, a guy called from here in town the other day. I'm
glad I didn't answer his phone, but he says this, he says, you
know, he says, A lot of, you know, I call to
say that if you have any people addicted to porn in your congregation,
I'd be glad to come and talk to them. Can you imagine such
a thing? I mean, you see, they make things
not to be seen anymore. It's addiction. Our Lord said to look on a woman
who lusts after in your heart, you've committed adultery. You
don't have to look at anything filthy anywhere anytime you got
it in your heart. Oh, addiction? Well, you can
get help for an addiction. You can get taught how to get
away and get saved from an addiction. But one thing you can't do, you
can't change your heart. That's what we're talking about
here. That's why we're talking about this gospel that recognizes
a complete and total fall. And oh, that's why he says, you
know, you receive honor. He won't get up and say, look
what I've done. I broke my vision. I put my vision. I'll tell you
how to do it too. Oh, you see what I'm saying?
Oh, everybody don't believe the same gospel. My gospel exalts
the sovereign God and recognizes the complete and total fall.
And my gospel, listen to me, now is that your gospel? Recognize
the complete and total fall? My gospel is based on a covenant
of grace. Based on a covenant of grace?
Oh, you know the word covenant appears in God's word over 250
times? God made a covenant with Adam
when he created him. And there was a covenant, do
and you'll live, don't and you'll die. Obey me and you'll live,
disobey me and you'll die. Well Adam disobeyed and he died.
Wherefore has not one man sinned in this world and death passed
upon all of us? Why? Because that one man sinned.
And then God made a covenant with Moab. At the end of that
rain and everything and all the rain was gone and dried up and
that Noah got out and God said, see that rainbow up there in
the north? I see that rainbow. He said, that rainbow is a covenant
between me and you. Every time you see that, you'll
know that I'll never destroy the earth with water again. You
know, he got out of that and if it ever started raining again,
you know, the first thing he'd do, he'd just, oh, we're going
to go through that again. That's what he had said. But
God said, no, that's not going to happen. Every time you see
that bow in the clouds, that means I'm not going to destroy
the earth again. You're not going to go through that again. Then
he made a covenant with Abraham. Abraham, come out of there, Cowleys. Here he comes. I just don't believe
I'll come yet. I'm just not ready. You know,
you'll have to beg me. You'll have to plead with me.
You'll have to convince me. No, God said, Come. Abraham went. And he said, I'll be thy God,
and I'll give you a seed that no man can number. I'll give
you a seed, and beloved, and that seed was Christ, and through
Christ that seed, every one of us sat here today that's regenerated,
and all the regenerated souls that's ever been is through that
seed of Abraham, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he made a covenant
with David. It may not be this way with my
house, and David was an old man, and they put a virgin beside
him to keep him warm. And there is an old man, he's
dying, the sweet psalmist of Israel said, God hath made with
me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things in sure. And oh,
beloved, and this is an everlasting covenant of grace. Paul says
that Christ was the surety of a better covenant. And look over
here in Hebrews 13, 20 with me just a moment. Oh, I love this
verse of scripture. You remember the story about
Mephibosheth, don't you? We're talking about a covenant
of grace. My gospel is based on a covenant, and it's a covenant
of grace. Here in verse 20, Hebrews 13,
20. that brought again from the dead,
our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood
of the everlasting covenant." Oh my, everlasting covenant? Our Lord Jesus said, Thou hast
given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to who? As many as Thou hast given him. Where were they given
to Him at in that covenant of grace? Lord, I pray. He said, Father, I pray not for
the world, but I pray for them that thou hast given me. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me has no way I'll
ever cast him out. For this is the Father's will
which hath sent me, that all that he hath given me I should
lose nothing, but I'll raise him up at the last day. Do you remember Mephibosheth?
Jonathan and David. The Scripture says they loved
one another above the love of the Lord, and they entered into
a covenant. And David says, you know, Jonathan
says, when you get the throne, David, remember my house. Remember my house. And he had
a descendant, Mephibosheth, five years old. Jonathan's son. Jonathan's was dead and gone.
And Jonathan Mephibosheth, you know, and when they was coming
to get Saul and him coming to destroy the people of that house,
his nurse took him, went running with him, and she fell and crippled
both of his legs. Five years old, and he couldn't
walk. David said, Is there any aunt of the house of Saul, of
Jonathan's son, that I may show mercy to and grace to? He said,
There's one boy over there. He's crippled. He's laying on
both of his legs. His name's Phibisheth. David
said, Go and fetch him and bring him right here. And this is the first thing Phibisheth
said when he brought him. And they had a cave over there.
And when the king says, fetch it, believe me, he's coming.
He's coming. He said, Dad, get out of that
tree. Lazarus, you come up out of that
too. But anyway, first thing out of
Mephibosheth's mind when he got in the presence of the king,
why in the world would you look upon such a dead dog as I am?
Such a filthy thing like me? First thing he said to him, don't
you be afraid. Don't you be afraid. He said,
take him, clean him up, put some new clothes on him, set a table
in front of him, restore everything that he lost, and set him at
my table for the rest of his life. That's what my gospel is based
on. God coming to get you and bringing you, clothing you, restoring
everything to you that you lost in Adam, plus 10,000 times more,
and setting you at His table to feed you and take care of
you. And oh, beloved, let me tell you this, and I'll hurry
back over in our text. Oh, brethren, I declare unto
you the gospel that I preach to you. Word you received and
you stand by what you say. Is your gospel based on a covenant
of grace or based on your works or your merit or your free will? And my gospel declares and incarnate
God. Declares and incarnate God. Now,
what do I mean by that? Since man couldn't go to God,
and man couldn't satisfy God, and man couldn't appease God,
and man couldn't approach God, God said, I'll go, and I'll become
one of them. I'll identify with them. I'll
take upon me the seed of Abraham. I'll become a man so that I can
identify with them, so I can do for them what they can't do
themselves. And behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son." And what are you going to call him? Immanuel.
What does that mean? God's with us? God's with us?
And behold, under us, a child is given. Under us, a
son is born. What are you going to call him?
Wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. And, oh, beloved, he was in the
beginning. with God. The same was in the
beginning with God. Everything that was made was
made by Him. And then He went on down to say this, and that
this Word, this Word that was with God, this Word that was
God, was manifested in the flesh, and we beheld His glory. Glory
of who? As the only begotten Son of God.
Oh, beloved, great is the mystery of godliness. Great is the mystery
of godliness. You know, we have people that
trust and men that's long gone. But
everybody wants to go up to God and have part of God. But for
God to come here, the eternal God to come here and inhabit
time and space, inhabit a body, and confine to that body, confine
to a geographical location, and come here to take that body for
one reason? To live? The life that you and
I couldn't live. Thy death that you and I couldn't
die. Pay a debt that you and I couldn't pay. And to be able
to die. And oh, that great is the mystery.
God was manifest in the flesh. That's the greatest mystery.
That's why the Lord says, you know, Philip says, show us the
Father. He said, Philip, he that has seen me has seen the Father. Seen the Father. And I'll tell
you what else. Is that your gospel? As an incarnate
God? And my gospel declares an effectual
salvation. An effectual salvation. What
do you mean by that? I mean that who Christ died for,
who's in that covenant of grace, all those that was fallen and
completely unable with no ability to do anything of their own,
that Christ, those given to Him, that Christ died for them, and
every single one of them will be saved. That's what I mean
by the effect of salvation. It's for all His elect. Somebody told Mr. Spurgeon one
time, said, you know, why don't you just preach to the elect?
He said, I knew there was a way. If God put a mark on their head
and said that's one of God's elect, I'd go to that school
and start preaching to God. Because I know they'd believe it. But
we don't know who the elect are. Only God does. So we preach. But I'll tell you this, God's
only going to save His elect. Christ only died for His elect. That's the way it is. I mean,
you know, here's the thing about it. How in the world did God,
how can God be just and just, how can God save us in our sin? How can God save us from our
sin? How can God put us into his family? How can God make us acceptable
in his own sight? Well, He sent His Son, and this
is how He made salvation effectual. He put our sin on Him and punished
Him, poured out His wrath on Him, took His sword of justice
and plunged it into His heart. And so, when Christ died, the
wrath of God was expended, the justice of God was satisfied.
Sin was put away once and for all. When He said it's finished,
that's what He meant. And so then, for everyone for
whom Christ died, their sins are put away. My sins weren't
put away the day I believed. That's what the Gospel tells
us. It tells us what Christ has done, not what we're to do. And when I heard that Christ
put away my sins 2,000 years ago, my faith couldn't have put
them away. When Christ established righteousness
for me 2,000 years ago, my believing didn't make me righteous. Christ
makes me righteous. And that's what the gospel tells
us. This was something that was done long, long ago. And that
he that believeth on Jesus Christ, God says his sins are already
paid for. You mean my sins are gone? Oh, that's the best news
I ever heard. You mean that He gives you my
right and He takes the righteousness of Christ as a man, and that
righteousness of God, and then He gives that to us? And not
only that, but He gives us a nature in order to believe it. People say, well, I tell you,
your sins won't be gone until you believe. I tell you what,
if your sins are gone and Christ put them away back there, I'm
going to tell you this, you will believe. I believe that as well
as I believe God's on His throne. I don't know who Christ died
for, but I do know this, that if He did, who He died for, if
you're here and He died for you, just mark her down. You may not
believe today, And you ought to believe today. The fact that
Christ was made sin, who knew no sin, that He banished sin,
and your sin so awful that it took Christ to put it away? I
believe I trust Him. I believe I look to Him. That's what I believe I do. That's
what I do. And you see, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells
in Him. You see, we preach a salvation. The gospel we believe preaches
a salvation that saves, a redemption that redeems, and atonement that
comes. And then last of all, I think
that's last of all. No, I've got another point here
somewhere if I can find it. Yeah, no, I'm on track. I'm on track. I thought I missed
one. I'll recount them. My last point's this. My gospel. Is this your gospel what I'm
preaching to you today? Is this your gospel? Is this your hope? Is
this what saved you? Is this you saying, oh, this
is mine? Oh, I believe that with my heart
and soul. My gospel is good news to all
who believe. It's good news. It's good news. Look in Romans 4 with me just
a moment. Oh, what good news. What good
news. Romans 4. And verse 20, oh my,
I've heard of Scott and this is the first time I've ever heard
this statement made. You know, my gospel is good news to all
who believe. But he says, come to Christ and
don't move a muscle. That's the first time I've ever
heard that. A light went on in my brain. Something jumped in
my heart. Because that's the way I come.
I don't have to give a disk to do that. I don't have to go down
this. I don't have to go up to some
preacher and shake his hand. Come to Christ and don't move a muscle. You know Christ is in glory and
you get to Him from here to there. From your heart to Him. From
your soul to Him. And look here in Romans 4.20,
talking about Abraham. Oh, my gospel's good news to
all who believe. He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory
to God, being fully persuaded that what he had promised he
is able to perform. Therefore it was imputed to him
for righteousness. Now listen to it. Now it was
not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but
for us also. to whom he shall be imputed."
Listen, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord
from the dead, who was delivered, delivered up to the cross, delivered
up to justice, delivered up to wrath, delivered up to our sins,
who was delivered for our sins, our offense, but raised again
for our justification. Haas is put away. He's our justification. And let me show you one other,
Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10. When I saw that sign down there
the other day, it said, come hear gospel sermons. I immediately
said, well, what is your gospel? If you're going to come and hear
a gospel sermon, what is it? What is it? What is it? Hebrews 10
and verse 10. Hebrews 10.10. By the witch will, the will of
God, the will that Christ established, By the witch will, we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all
time, once for all eternity. And every priest standing daily,
ministering, often offers times the same sacrifice, which can
never take away sins. But listen to it. But this man,
after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he sat down
on the right hand of God. What is he doing there? Expecting
his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected
forever, and then are sanctified. Boy, that's the best. I mean,
I'm sanctified forever. I'm perfect forever. Now watch
it. Wherefore the Holy Ghost bears
witness to us, gives us evidence of this. For after that, he said
before, this is the covenant that I will make. We're talking
about a covenant again, that I will make with them after those
days, saith the Lord. I'll put my laws into their hearts,
and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more. Somebody just asked me real recently,
she said, do you ever think about your former sins? Do they ever
come and torment you? Yeah, I know my sins are gone,
but yet, David said, my sins are before me. I'll think of
sins that I've done, and they'll come before me. And I'll say,
I know they're gone. And I'll say, Lord, I thank you
that they're gone. But they come. But here he says, but here's
the blessed thing about it. God said, I will remember them
no more. I don't remember them. The devil may have made them
to our mind. We may remember them, but God doesn't. Now repayment
of these sins is, there's no more offering for sin. No more
offering. We don't need to bring it off.
It's done. Having therefore then, brethren, boldness to enter into
the holiest, right into the very presence of God Himself, behind
the veil. Why, there ain't no veil. Christ's
face was the veil. And into the holiest by the blood
of Jesus, by a new and a living way, which He hath consecrated
for us. through his veil, that is to
say, his flesh. Huh? Oh, my. Is that good news
to you? Good news to me. Well, how do
I know that my gospel is the gospel? And Henry, and this is
something Henry and Scott came up with one day when we was over
in Cherokee, North Carolina, sitting around there one day.
They got discussing the gospel. And they began to say, how in
the world, Scott, do we know our gospel is the gospel? How do
we know it's the gospel? And this is what they came up
with. How do I know my gospel is the gospel? First of all,
it gives God all the glory. Secondly, it's true to the Old
Testament types and pictures. Christ is in Genesis, Exodus,
Numbers, it's all the way through the Old Testament. Every lamb
that was slain, every priest who offered a sacrifice, the
tabernacle that showed red, the table, the candles, everything
pointed to Christ. And thirdly, we know it's the
gospel because it enables God to be just and the justifier. He's just because He's already
punished sin, and He's justifier of them that believe on Christ.
Who's going to condemn us? It's God the justifier. And fourthly,
here's why we know it's the gospel. It's our gospel. They said it
was the gospel because it gives real hope to real sinners. It
gives real hope to real sinners. This was another message, you
know, I ought to save this and preach this tonight. And I'll
tell you, here's the fifth reason. It'll keep a man saved. It'll keep a man saved. It'll
keep a man, keep it on, keep it on. And listen, and it's the
only gospel that allows a sinner to have any assurance at all.
You can't find any assurance in anything else than this gospel. Ain't that right? And oh, beloved,
let's turn to number nine in our chorus book, and let's sing
this song.